Carlene:

But I have been wrong before.

I woke up slowly.

At first everything was a big grey blur, with smaller flickering orange blurs. When my eyes focused, I saw I was lying on a cot inside a cave, lit by guttering torches. I was covered by a woven blanket, and there was a table nearby with a bowl.

“She’s awake!” It was Renita, leaning over me. But who was she—?

“I see.” It was a tall woman, with long, raven-black hair and Latin-American features. She regarded me coolly from emerald-green eyes, then snorted. “So she lived, and now I have three mouths to feed. I go to hunt.” She spun on her heel and marched away.

“Consuela’s not so bad when you get used to her,” Renita said. But I was too busy staring to listen. Had I just seen a dusky jaguar striding from the room where Consuela had been?

I shook my head. Big mistake—nearly passed out. “What…happened?”

“The packs left you for dead after the battle.” She smiled. “But lucky for you, you were only mostly dead. And mostly dead is partly alive.”